Assyria, God's Rod (Isaiah 10:5-19)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“5 'Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings?' 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?' 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, 'I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.' 13 For he says: 'By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.' 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.”
Introduction
I am sure that you know of this famous piano competition, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition that took place this winter in Fort Worth and the winner of this piano competition was a Korean player named, Yunchan Lim. Lim graduated from Korean National University of Arts. A lot of world piano players watched him play and they all complimented him saying that he is a genius and piano prodigy. When I watched the YouTube video of him playing and it sounded so beautiful. I never knew piano sounded so beautiful. There was someone in the audience that was crying while she was conducting the music. The reporters asked the piano player, “What is your hope?” Lim said that he wanted to go inside the mountains and just play piano all day. This means that he is most happy when he plays the piano. In order to prepare for competitions, I am sure that Lim would need to rent a place to practice. The owner of the rented house that Lim rented out from asked if he could play piano all day to the owner? The rented house owner said that this house is in a desolated area so that the sound shouldn’t be a problem at all. This rented house owner thought that Lim would play for only a few hours a day but Lim played the piano for 16 hours all night. Lim would not only play this only a few times a week but every single day. In order to play a piano piece, Lim said that he would read books and research the music that he was going to play. He would research about the background and history of the song piece and digest all of the information and practice the music. He wouldn’t just research and learn about the music just once but he would constantly read the materials over and over again. He would read so much content and material all the time that he would end up memorizing all of it. When I saw this, I realized that this person was piano 24 hours a day. This piano player would constantly think and concentrate on piano all the time. Whenever he concentrated on piano, Lim said that this brought him the most about of joy and happiness. This is called enjoyment. This piano player truly understood what enjoyment was. Whenever we concentrate and enter into 24 hours, and find happiness then we can find true answers and bear true fruit. If we find happiness and enter into concentration as we do the 393 prayer, then we will find true and absolute answers and enjoyment.
1. God's 24-hour Concentration
1) God's continued covenant
As I was reading the book of Isaiah, I was able to find what concentration that God wanted us to find. I realized that I needed to have concentration in my life. How can I save others and how can I raise disciples? God always has His focus on these questions. As we continue to read the book of Isaiah, the nations of Aram and Assyria attacked Israel, many Israelites were taken as captives.
At this time, Israel was trembling in fear and God gave this message at this time of Isaiah 7:14, 9:6 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ” - God’s covenant never changes and God will continue to give us His promise as seen in this Biblical passage. God promised that He will be with them. But at that time, they couldn’t believe in God’s word and they followed after idol worship instead.
But God gave them another message in Isaiah 9:6 - God continued to perfectly guide His people with His word as he spoke in this Biblical passage. The Israelites should’ve come to their senses and understood what God was trying to tell them but if you look at today’s Biblical passage, things were getting worse for the Israelites. The Israelites continued to become wicked and sinful against God instead.
2) Israel's continued response
Isaiah 10:1-4 “ 'Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain.' For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.” - The role of the church servants and leaders was to take the law, discard it, and write new laws but instead they would write laws that would steal justice from the needy, the fatherless, and the less fortunate people. God became so furious from this.
You can see God’s frustration and anguish Isaiah 10:3. If God curses the Israelites then who will save and protect them? God was telling the Israelites, do you think the Assyrians will be able to save them?
2. Assyria, God's Instrument
1) God uses Assyria as His rod
Verse 5 - When children don’t listen, the parents will punish their children with a rod. God was saying that He will teach the Israelites a lesson by the rod and staff. Why would God use Assyria as a way to punish the Israelites?
Verse 6 - God was using Assyria to destroy godless nations. God was saying that He was the one who sent Assyria to destroy Israel. But God was using Assyria as an instrument to heal Israel. God was so angry that He poured down His wrath to Israel by using Assyria as a tool to punish Israel. There is an important message here. What is the method to come out of God’s wrath and the suffering that came upon them? God was so angry. But we also know if God’s anger disappears, then the suffering will end. What is the way to lessen the anger of God? God doesn’t desire anything else, God wanted them to return back to Him. God was telling them to know Him and return back to Him. This is an important message. What is the reason why we face problems and sufferings come upon us? It is because we are not properly holding onto and listening to God’s word. If you discover God’s hidden message and realize you haven’t been living a life of only Jesus then that is when healing will start taking place in your life. This is what the rod of God means. If a child understands his wrongdoing then there is no need to continue to punish this child. This was what God was trying to say.
2) The arrogance of the rod
Verses 7, 10-11, 13-14, 15-19 - If you look at this message, this means that Israelites were treated very poorly and horribly by the Assyrian army. One of the most wicked armies in history was the Assyrian army. If you look in the recorded historical contents, the Assyrian army would treat their enemies like animals and savages by piercing their enemies’ noses and dragging them like cows. They wouldn’t just kill their enemies but they would skin their enemies first and then kill them. The Assyrian army would take the civilians as slaves to other nations. I could share more horrendous things that Assyrian army would do but I can’t share them because they are too graphic and gruesome to say. What is more wicked was that they would take their enemies' nations and completely demolish them. They would make other nations and have them settle in their enemy nation, and completely abolish and perish their enemy’s nation.
Verse 10 - Back then, they would have wars against gods. They would battle whose god was stronger or not. They would proclaim that their “god” was stronger than other nations’ gods. Assyria was saying that their hand of their god defeated other gods. They were proclaiming that their gods were stronger than God, Himself, the God of Israel. They were acting so recklessly and arrogantly towards God.
Not only that but in verse 13 - Assyria was proclaiming that they were the most wise and powerful, and that they were so powerful that they will be the ones who will destroy all nations. They would steal all of the riches from nations because they believed that all things and riches belonged to them. Assyria who was used as a rod and an instrument by God were acting so arrogantly before God even though God was using them as an instrument. There were many riches that they found within Assyria, riches that Assyria stole from other nations. They found so much gold and riches in Assyria. But God became flabbergasted at Assyria’s arrogance.
Verse 15 - How does a rod rise against its master? How does a creation go against his creator? This is an ultimate sin. God found the acts and arrogance of Assyria outrageous and laughable. There are churches who use God for their own advantage and benefits. This is a scary sin to commit against God. What ended up destroying Assyria?
Verse 16 - In other words, God was saying that the rod that He used as His instrument, He will burn it. God is a being who can easily throw this rod away. Just like Moses who performed many miracles with his rod, when he died, this rod meant nothing. God was saying that He will completely destroy Assyria.
From here, we need to discover the gospel. The reason why Assyria was destroyed and failed was because they looked down on God. They looked down on worship. They completely fell into Genesis 3, 6, and 11. God said that He is the judge of those who have looked down on Him.
Isaiah 10:25-26 “For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.” - There were remnants remaining in Israel. God said that He will leave the remnants and burn down the rod, Assyria. In other words, God said that He will leave behind the remnants who are worshiping Him.
The fundamental problem of Assyria is seen in Isaiah 43:21 “This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.” - They couldn’t understand this Biblical passage. The reason why God called and saved us was so that we can praise and worship God. God accepts our praise and worship, and gives us grace. Who are the remaining ones?
3. God's Hope
1) Remnant
Isaiah 10:20-22, 28-34 “And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish-- O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The Lord of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.” - Are you a remnant? Who are the remaining ones? They don’t rely on people and nothing else but they rely on God alone. This is a remnant. They don’t live relying on money, the things of this world, or people around them. Remnants rely on God alone.
Isaiah 10:22 - There were so many Israelite who became captives and slaves at that time but only the remnants would return back to the promise land. God allowed the remnants to return so that they could build the temple of God. God wanted them to return so that they could build the temple and give worship to God.
God gave a message to the remnants at that time in Isaiah 10:27 “It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.” - The remnants can experience true liberation and freedom. God continued to give this message and spoke about Assyria.
Isaiah 10:28-32 - Just like God prophesied, it happened exactly as it was spoken by God. Assyria was being attacked with great force and power. You can see the remnants of Israel enter and completely destroy Assyria. If you look at this, the Assyrian army was so powerful back then and would conquer nations wherever they went.
Isaiah 10:32 - The Assyrian army raised up their hands after they conquered nations after nations.
Isaiah 10:33-34 and 2 Kings 19:35 “And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.” - This was the answer that King Hezekiah received. This was the message that God gave to the remnants. Why? No matter how powerful the Assyrian army was, God was telling the remnants not to be afraid. God was saying that He is in control over life and death. We must believe in this. God is in control of what nations will be destroyed and raised but God is also in control of life and death. This is the same thing right now. This is because God is alive and eternal. God is in control over all things. God is in control over our lives. It is so simple for us to receive answers. If we just listen well a little bit to God, then God will grant you great answers and blessings. The problem is that we are not listening to God. Look up to God and rely on Him alone.
2) The covenant that remnants must enjoy
Change (Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”) - We must change ourselves. We must hold onto only Christ. If we worship with only Christ, then all problems will be finished. We must change ourselves. Our thoughts, standards, and work, don’t be caught up on that but change ourselves. Our standard of answers, we must throw and discard them as well. As mankind, we have no choice but to live in Genesis 3, 6, and 11 but God is telling us to discard all things and look towards Him alone.
Keep (Colossians 2:3 “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”) - I realized that after our 40-day challenge, you have stopped uploading the 393 prayers. Continue to upload them. We are in the beginning stages of receiving answers so continue to pray with the 393 prayer. We must hold onto the power of the Triune God and heavenly throne as well as the power of life and the unprecedented blessings. If we meditate daily, then the great power of the filling of the Holy Spirit will come upon us. If you continue to do the 393 prayer, then you will receive spiritual power. If you receive spiritual power, then the powers of Satan will break down without you knowing. If we receive spiritual power, then the people around you who are controlled by darkness will have no choice but to flee from you. The angels of God are continuing to protect you then how can anyone dare to attack you? When you enjoy the blessing of the heavenly throne then this is the great spiritual power that you can enjoy. If you can’t enjoy the blessing of the heavenly throne and lack spiritual power then people of this world have no choice but to look down on you. I am telling you this with full truth. We may not see it but the heavenly armies and forces are always with you and protecting you at all times. When we enjoy this, then the heavenly armies and forces are constantly working for you. Truly enjoy this. You are remnants. Then, we can receive new power.
New power (Philippians 4:13 “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”) - Then, we can receive the true answer. The greatest power of all power is granted to us when we hold onto only Christ. The greatest answer that you can receive is entering into only Christ. Then, you can receive the answer of uniqueness. Wherever you go, the works of recreation will take place. Enjoy these blessings in your life.
Conclusion
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” - Truly enjoy the blessing of the heavenly throne and 393 prayer. God called you so that He can give you great blessings and answers. Until the day Jesus comes, God wants to continue to use and train you so that we can save people who are suffering. Enjoy these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ.
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